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Posts made in December 2018

2019 is here and with a new year comes NEW thoughts, plans, and ideas not just for you, but for your home!

You’ve been saying for a while now that you need to get cracking in your home and really declutter and organize. Last summer was too busy, fall flew right by, and next before you know the holidays were here.

Now is a vital time for you to put together a plan!

Set a goal for each month. Is your entire home just a catastrophe of clutter? Don’t look at your home as a whole. Take it one room at a time. If you are looking at one room that is wall to wall stuff and even the closet is busting at the seams, then focus on ONE wall or ONE corner and if you’re in the closet focus on ONE shelf (start with the highest). By decluttering your home as quickly as possible will only cause burn out! Slow and steady wins the race! Set small goals for yourself and when you start achieving those small goals, those small results will add up and you will feel much better about what you’re doing and how you’re doing it.

I am a strong believer in making a list! Putting your thoughts and ideas down on paper helps you to visualize what’s in your mind. The power lies within YOU to put each item on your list into action! It’s not going to get finished without you to do the work – so ask yourself, am I going to talk about what I need to do to declutter and get organized or am I going to do them?

Put together your plan, write it down, remember to set small goals, make time, and enjoy your accomplishments!

Are you looking to put your home on the market and debating whether to paint? Or are you looking at just giving your walls a refreshing new look? According to Consumerreports.org, painting your home in preparation to sell can potentially bump the value of your home by 1-2%. Not only is painting used to cover up imperfections, but it just gives the home an overall fresh look and is more appealing to potential buyers.

You should do an assessment of each room and check the following:

What color are the rooms currently painted?

What condition are the walls in? (i.e. scuffs, scratches, dents)

What is currently on the wall? (i.e. artwork, stenciling, wallpaper/border, personal photos or effects – any of these things you would removing & packing away that would leave holes or screws?)

You have to keep in mind that not everyone has the same taste as you do and some people can experience color sensitivity. For example, I love THE Ohio State Buckeyes and I had painted my home office a beautiful scarlet red, but I knew when I was putting my home on the market several years ago that the red might not appeal to potential buyers so I painted the room a nice neutral cream.

So you’ve decided what room you need to paint, now what? You first need to determine your budget. Are you painting the room yourself or will you hire a painting contractor? When you choose to hire a painting contractor, they can bundle your paint into their costs since they will be able to purchase it using a contractor’s discount. When you choose to do the painting yourself, you are paying for all of the paint and supplies out of your own pocket.

You don’t have to break the bank to paint your home! Even if you are not going to be looking at putting your home on the market, but you want to freshen the look of your walls, then check out this money saving tip! You already probably have a multitude of things you need to do your home that are costing you money. So once you determine which rooms need painted, then you’re ready to select your color(s). The biggest go-to in paint is Sherwin-Williams. Sure, it’s great paint, but it can run from $50-85 “per gallon”! Remember, you need to detach yourself from your home – you’re selling it! So why spend phenomenal amounts of your hard earned money on top of the line paint for a home that you will no longer call your home?

You need to think about what colors you are covering up and account for how many coats it will take. Did you know that Sherwin-Williams paint colors can be color matched at Home Depot and Lowe’s? You can save between 50-75% “per gallon” by doing this!!! That’s a huge savings! Simply take your favorite SW color in and give it to the paint department specialist and give the the color name and code. It’s as simple as that.

At the end of the day, painting your home can bring your home value, give it a fresh new look, and be more appealing to a potential buyer, but you don’t have to sacrifice your other projects for good paint.

We are surrounded by things. These things range from necessities, to gifts of all kinds (holiday, birthday, wedding, etc), things handed down to you from someone else, and things from your “want” list that were on sale or you just had to have. Accumulating things is a lot like gaining weight. You keep accumulating things and then one day your home is overloaded just like your favorite pair of jeans!

It can leave you wondering where the heck did all this stuff come from which is the common question when de-cluttering your home.

For homeowners who have lived in their homes for longer than 5 years, the struggle is very real. It can be incredibly overwhelming to have to go through everything especially if you are packing all of your things yourself. Here are some things to consider when tackling decluttering your home:

Start with ONE room at a time. If you think about your home as a whole, it can be incredible overwhelming. So it’s important to only focus on one room at a time.

Turn OFF the TV and turn ON some music!

Organize your space so you can be as efficient as possible with your time. Prepare several boxes/totes and have them lined up so you can be organized as you go.

Set aside 2 boxes. One box should be designated as your “Decision Box”. These would be items that you are not sure of and would like to think about. You can come back to them later after thinking on it. Designate another box for “Donations”. You can research local charity organizations for donations.

Grab a trash bag and have it ready to trash any items that you feel are trash.

When packing items and deciding what to do with it, hold the item and ask yourself the following questions:

1) How long have I had this item?

2) What does this item mean to me?

3) When was the last time I used this item?

4) What are my intentions for this item if I decide

to keep it?

5) Why haven’t I used this item?

If you still haven’t answered your question to keep it or sell/donate it – put it in your decision box & sleep on it. I recommend the 24 hour rule – come back to the items in your decision box 24 hours later and ask those questions above over again and you should be better at making the decision.

If you know in the Fall you’re going to be selling your home in the Spring, don’t wait! Even if you’re not looking to be selling in the near future, but need to clean out & organize still follow the same plan. Set a goal for yourself and make a plan to achieve it! Even if you are going to be selling your home quicker than expected, you can still set a good goal to get things done you will just need to do a little more, but still focus on one room at a time.

So just remember: create a plan and take one room at a time. My motto is “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail”. You will see things start to take shape quicker if you are organized, you manage your time, and can make decisions about what to do with your things. What’s the old phrase “if you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything”?

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"At DM Home Transitions, I am dedicated to providing homeowners with all the tools necessary to transition their lives successfully. Downsizing can be stressful and weight bearing ~ so let me take that weight off of your shoulders and help you get to the next phase of your life one step at a time."